


We Cut Corners

by ShinySurfinRaichu



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Deaf Character, Deaf!Ikrie, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Flashbacks, More like Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Mute Rost(mentioned), Mutual Pining, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Selectively Mute Aloy, Sign Language, Slow Burn, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-03-24 16:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13814634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinySurfinRaichu/pseuds/ShinySurfinRaichu
Summary: A selectively mute Aloy has grown bitter after the death of Rost, and finds that she doesn't want the fate of the world on her shoulders. She wanders across the land, and finds herself in Banuk territory, where she meets someone who seems to really understand her for the first time. Now Aloy must find a way to reconcile with her past, learn how to trust others, and realize that fate has a way of finding you no matter where you hide.





	1. The Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

> *the first two chapters are set during the Looming Shadow quest, and the rest are to be flashbacks

The heat of the sun was almost sweltering, Aloy wasn't sure if there was a single part of her not laced with rivulets of sweat. It was about midday, give or take a few hours; after being knocked out earlier it was hard tell exactly how long had passed. She guessed that the added heat was probably from the fires raging far below them. Even if they managed to put a stop to HADES, Meridian would never be the same. The land, and the people who called it home, would be scarred for years to come. 

A light touch on her shoulder broke Aloy out of her thoughts. She didn't flinch away, like she would have once upon a time. This touch was as familiar as the body paired with it. The huntress pulled her gaze away from the destruction, and looked over at her companion. Ikrie's eyebrows were raised in a silent question, but the bags under her eyes were clear to see. Her own face probably mirrored that look; a tired, but smoldering determination.

"Are you okay?" Ikrie signed. 

Aloy glanced away for several seconds before signing back, "Are any of us?" 

"I was talking about your head, no need to get deep on me." A teasing smile pulled at the corners of Ikrie's lips.

Aloy tilted her head in confusion, and motioned for her to elaborate. Instead of signing anything else, that Banuk hunter just pointed to her forehead. Bringing a hand up to her own head, Aloy felt something stickier than sweat alone. Her fingers came back bloodied. If Ikrie hadn't pointed the wound out, she doubted it would even have been noticed. There were so many other things running through Aloy's mind.

Before her thoughts could whisk Aloy away again, her companion handed over a fresh roll of bandages. It was probably one of the last ones between their small band of allies. With a little help, her wound was soon cleaned up and she made an effort to look for any others. One shallow cut along her thigh, but nothing else worth tending to at the moment. That was one more thing to be thankful for.

"What about you?" Aloy signed, looking back up at the other woman. 

"Nothing fatal." Ikrie signed with a lopsided grin.

Trust Ikrie to find a way to flash that humor even as the world crumbled around them. A sort of soft pang ran through Aloy, as reality reared its ugly head for a moment. Would she get to see that bright smile again after this? Ikrie must have sensed her dark thoughts, or seen her expression change, because she reached out to snap her fingers. This helped ground Aloy once more. They couldn't afford to think like that; there was only one option and that was to get this done.

Footsteps crunched behind her, and she could tell from the heavy gait that it was Erend. Ikrie nodded in greeting to him, and he signed back a curt "how are you". After a responding shrug, he turned his attention to Aloy. She wasn't sure if she had the energy to talk after all that had happened, but she knew her allies would worry otherwise. Her tongue longed for the easy silences of Ban Ur. When your companion was deaf, having nonverbal episodes wasn't such a big deal, after all. 

"You ready to head over the ledge?" Erend asked her. 

Glancing over at her other allies, Aloy felt the world fall quiet suddenly. It was strange to realize how much these people had grown to mean to her. Once an outcast who refused to speak to anyone, Aloy couldn't be more different than the girl who had started this journey. Sure, talking still wasn't her strong suit, but there were people who would give their lives for her now. People she would give her own life for as well.

Looking back at her was Varl, seeming ages older than he had when they had first met almost a year and a half ago. He was more cultured for leaving the sacred lands, but still held the strength of his mother in every movement. Sona stood off to the side, prowling through her own nerves, if the War-chief was even capable of being nervous. She would never adapt to life outside the Nora grounds, but there was nothing that could keep from the duty to protect that same territory. As painful as it was to think about, Aloy was sure Vala would have been just as proud to accompany her kin if she had lived to get the chance.

To their left stood Talanah, the newly named Sunhawk who looked determined to prove her title. Aloy hoped that this battle would be successful, the Hunting Lodge could definitely use the changes Talanah would bring to them. She was a smart, steady mind that cared more about the craft itself than the people who learnt it. Knowing that her skills would be there to back Aloy up was a calming thought. This battle might be the death of them all, but Talanah sure as hell wouldn't go down without a fight. 

As her gaze travelled on, Aloy made eye contact with Vanasha. The other woman raised a challenging eyebrow, as if to say "are you up for this, little huntress?" and Aloy couldn't help her snort of laughter. It was remarkable how good-natured her allies could remain while staring danger in the face. They weren't the type of people Aloy thought she'd befriend as a child, but she wouldn't have it any other way. Vanasha might be better at digging up dirt on her opponents than fighting them head on, but that wouldn't stop her from giving it everything she had. 

They had all started to move in closer now, a silent show of solidarity and trust in Aloy's leadership. The huntress however, glanced at Erend, as he was the captain of the guard after all. If someone had told Aloy upon their first meeting, that she would come to regard the Oseram man as close as family, she would have laughed in their face. Now the two of them shared a long look of mutual respect, and trust. They were both well aware of how disastrously this could end and yet, neither of them would dare to back down. They owed it to Ersa. Erend gave her the slightest shake of his head and a grim smile. 

"This is your fight to lead, Aloy. We follow you." After a few seconds he remembered to sign his words as well.

This prompted Aloy to turn to the last of the party, to the one person her heart dreaded looking at the most. Ikrie was still smiling wryly at Erend, but she turned her head to Aloy. For once, she couldn't seem to read the expression in those dark hazel eyes. A mixture of fear, affection and determination so fierce it threatened to overwhelm Aloy. Her mind was conflicted, torn between the cowardice that wanted to flinch away from the raw emotion being shown, and the part of her that desperately wanted to memorize every inch of Ikrie's face while she still could. While she was staring, a cheeky grin split across Ikrie's face.

"Gonna stand there forever, Outlander?" She signed.

"You're the Outlander here." Aloy signed back with a bittersweet smile.

This banter couldn't go on forever though, no matter how much they all wished it could. There was no delaying the inevitable. With a sharp nod, Aloy patted her sides and back to double check all her gear. The others did the same, a couple reaching around to grab just one more bit of ammo or medicinal salve. As they did, Ikrie tapped her shoulder. Then she let her hand fall to her side, hidden from the others. Her thumb, pinky and index finger out and the other two curled against her palm. Aloy swallowed and signed a quick "I love you" back before turning away.

"Are we ready?"

"Yeah!" A chorus of voices, and moving hands sent some much needed energy flowing back through her limbs.

Aloy turned around to face the few ledges between her and the top of the spire. She rested on hand into a worn groove in the stone, and wedged a boot into the first foothold. Closing her eyes, she sucked in a deep breath. Then she pulled herself up and headed for the End.


	2. Pieces of Us

It was eerily quiet at the top of the Spire. Motioning for the others to keep low, Aloy crept along the crumbling, waist-high wall. Just as she reached the tall pillar marking the entrance, a familiar, disjointed voice rang through the air.

ARRIVAL OF ENTITY HAS BEEN ANTICIPATED

Dismay shot through her; there went the last bit of luck they had at getting the upper hand in this battle. Aloy hadn't expected to catch HADES completely by surprise, but she had hoped for something. She cursed under her breath and jumped up, reaching for her bow. Before she could go through with the motion, the ground began to shake violently. Aloy stumbled and reached a hand out to the pillar, in an attempt to keep her footing. Behind her, a couple of cries of shock rang out. 

The source of the commotion became apparent immediately; a Deathbringer being woken from its slumber. Massive legs creaked into motion, sending more tremors through the ground with every step. Glaring red lights blinked into life. There would be little time before it's systems were fully awoken and the fight began. She spun around quickly and motioned for Ikrie and Talanah to join her.

The three of them were the most equipped for ranged fighting at the moment, and that would be ideal for taking this Deathbringer down. The others would be helpful, but it was far too dangerous for them to be fighting near it's massive legs. Besides, Aloy highly doubted that this would be the only machine lurking around up here. HADES was a hyper intelligent AI, and it wouldn't leave this fight down to chance. Varl, Sona, Erend and Vanasha could stand by and take down the reinforcements called to join the fight. 

The Nora War-chief and her son took to the far right side of the Spire. Spears drawn, eyes dark with determination. Aloy felt a twinge of pity for any machine caught in their sights. Erend and Vanasha, on the other hand, spread out along the left side. The captain of the guard could take the brunt of anything that came at them, while Vanasha struck anything that was distracted by Erend.

Even in the wake of destruction, when her attention should be divided between all those that she cared about, there was one person Aloy couldn't shake from the edges of her mind. The thought of that smiling, freckled face was in the shadows at every heartbeat. It took most of her willpower not to glance over at Ikrie every chance she got. 

It was...different to be so invested in the wellbeing of another. Sure, Aloy cared about other people's lives, but she had never felt so compelled to protect someone like she did in this moment. She knew that Ikrie could take of herself, was just as strong and resourceful as she was. Despite that knowledge, Aloy was filled with the overwhelming urge to shield the other woman from what was to come. 

Giving in, Aloy glanced over her shoulder and caught eyes with the person who wouldn't leave her mind. Ikrie smiled at her, eyes crinkled in a silent laugh. Even with the stress weighing down on her shoulders, Aloy felt a smile tug at the corners of her lips too. There was something about the Banuk hunter that just...made Aloy's heart feel a bit lighter, even in the face of such imminent danger.

"We've got this, Aloy." Ikrie signed to her quickly. 

She nodded curtly, hands fixed too tightly around her weapon to form a reply. Even blind optimism resonated with her more when it came from her companion. Unfortunately, Aloy's revere couldn't last forever and it was broken by the sound of sharp whirring. Her head whipped around to face the Deathbringer again, muscles tensing in anticipation. The focus on her temple clicked on with an electronic whine.

Shimmering purple coated her vision for a heartbeat before settling on the outline of the Deathbringer. Her eyes darted over it's expanse, etching it's weaknesses into her memory. There wouldn't be time to do this again in the middle of the fight. Aloy was going to have to rely on her memory alone. On either side of her, Talanah and Ikrie braced themselves as well. They wouldn't have the upper hand that the focus provided, but that wasn't going to hinder them. Vicious determination smoldered in their eyes already. Aloy felt a twinge of pride for her friends. They weren't going to hold back.

Her thoughts spun, debating on which component to prioritize. The guns were a given, best to leave those for her allies. There was the large box-y component in the middle, but that would be too easy to take out first. Aloy's best course of action would be to remove the smaller, more difficult to hit parts. They would be harder to focus on later in the battle, when she would risk exhaustion and debilitating wounds. 

The machine had warmed up completely by now, it's large limbs digging into the ground as it got a bearing on the field. Without warning, it made a rush at Aloy. It made the world around them quake horribly, and she was silently glad for the experience the Cut had brought her. Fighting all those Scorchers, Frostclaws and Fireclaws had a silver lining after all; she was much more adept at keeping her balance. Aloy dove to the left quickly, rolling onto her feet in an instant to continue moving. 

Talanah flanked her, falling in place naturally even though it had been a couple months since they'd last fought alongside each other. The Carja women loosed a couple of distracting shots, before dashing off in the opposite direction as Aloy. This caused the Deathbringer to pause; which human to aim at? It decided on Aloy, and struggled to match her pace. Across the clearing from her, Ikrie smashed two ice bombs into the machines limbs. One froze over completely, another leg groaned as it tried to shake the frost from its joints.

Being forced to a momentary halt, the Deathbringer hunkered down as if gathering it's strength. Small, cylindrical components popped up from each limb. A grin twisted along Aloy's face at the prospect of another weak point. Destroying those pieces would surely cause significant damage to it's mobility. Her allies were on the machine in an instant, with expertly aimed bombs and arrows. It didn't talk long for the machine to grow enraged and burst into motion again. 

The Deathbringer's movements were becoming more erratic as the battle raged on. A loud warning cry rose above the noise, Aloy thought it was Ikrie's voice. Her companion had a tendency to feel the vibrations of more large machines charging at them before anyone else she had met. Sure enough, the answering howls of angry machines tore through the air. Ice exploded just behind Aloy, startling her slightly. A quick glance revealed that Ikrie had incompacitated a Scrapper, saving her from a nasty surprise.

The huntress swung her spear around expertly, ripping through the Scrapper in one clean motion. Looking up, Aloy could see most of her allies were paired off with the new arrivals. It was a strategic move, keep them at bay while the Deathbringer attempted to heal and gather itself for another onslaught, no doubt. Unfortunately for her enemies, Aloy had no intention of letting that happen smoothly. 

The Deathbringer had positioned itself on the exact opposite end of the Spire from her by now. She would have to make her way through enemies and allies alike to reach her target. Another strategic move, this time harder for Aloy to counter; stopping to help her friends would be a more pressing concern. The huntress rushed ahead regardless, ducking past a lunging Sawtooth as she did. The massive creature began grappling with Erend, who as holding his own with ease. Aloy kept running.

As much as she wanted to, Aloy couldn't bring herself to keep running as she came upon Talanah. She was facing off with a pair of Longlegs, bow drawn and mouth curled down in a snarl. The two machines seemed to be sizing her up, which was new. Perhaps it had something to do HADES and the corruption. These Longlegs were looking for an opening, they could tell that rushing in wouldn't be effective. Talanah didn't look away from her opponents, but she jerked her head in a signal for Aloy to keep moving. She had this. 

She rocked on her feet for a heavy couple of seconds, before continuing on, sparing half a second to clap Talanah on the back in a gesture of trust. Sweat dripped from her brow, causing sticky strands of red hair to stick to her face. The air was dusty, making her throat itch with every breath, but she had to keeping running, keep dodging. Somebody had to disrupt the Deathbringer before it could get the upperhand. 

At last, Aloy skidded to a halt in front of the enormous machine. It whirred and clicked, not aware that one of its enemies had broken away from the conflict. Long, bulky legs lifted in slow motions as it inched around the outside of the Spire. Aloy pulled her spear off her back and grit her teeth. Even with it's slow gait, the Deathbringer was pulling itself out of range of her attacks quicker than she would have liked. 

The huntress ran forward and then braced herself, pulling back for a devastating swipe. Her spear crashed into the exposed component on the joint of the Deathbringer's leg and it burst apart instantly. The force of it made Aloy stumble roughly, but she kept her footing. She dove to right, feeling something hard push into her shoulder uncomfortably. Aloy let out a hiss of pain as she leapt back to a standing position. She prepared for another strike, raising her spear menacingly. 

Before she could finish the attack, something caught her eye. Aloy couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something in her peripheral vision nagged at her mind and made her limbs seize up. Any other time, the huntress would have struck first and then checked behind her. This time her instincts took control and she glanced over her shoulder. Barely three meters away was Ikrie, pinned to the ground with a Sawtooth looming over her. Her eyes were wide, Aloy could see the whites from where she stood, but her teeth were bared angrily. Ikrie wasn't going to go quietly.

Aloy felt the world fall silent around her, an annoying ringing in place of the clamor from moments before. Her heartbeat slowed, feeling as though it had stopped completely. It was as if ice was flowing through her body, freezing her in place despite the screaming in her head. She had to get to Ikrie, she had to save her. Ikrie couldn't die- she couldn't, Aloy refused to allow that to happen. Not here, not like this.

Finally, after what felt like years, the sounds came back to her in an explosive symphony. Even though Ikrie wouldn't be able to hear it, Aloy let out an involuntary scream. Her voice cracked part of the way through, threatening to send her into a coughing fit. Fear caused adrenaline to flood through her body, at last her feet felt unglued.

She saw the Sawtooth draw it's head back in preparation to finish it's enemy. She saw Ikrie struggle not to flinch in the face of her demise, saw as she failed and turned her head away. She saw the wet tracks along Ikrie's cheeks. She saw those dark, hazel eyes widen as they met Aloy's gaze. 

What she didn't see, however, was the mechanical leg moving behind her. Aloy's attention might have lapsed, but the Deathbringer hadn't forgotten about her attack not even a minute before. The limb slammed into her without warning, and then all Aloy could see was darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter took a bit being uploaded, had a rough couple of days mentally :') feeling a lot better now, and had a lot of fun finishing this chapter up. Comments are always appreciated, and if you want to get in contact with me otherwise, my tumblr is snowghostikrie!!!!
> 
> Next chapter starts the REAL journey of this fic ;3


	3. In That Vacant Stare

CRACK!

The clay bowl clattered to the ground, splintering into three large pieces. It's contents, the leftovers of a hearty stew, spilled onto the floor forming a messy picture. There was silence for a couple of minutes after the incident, save for a low sigh. Aloy's arms were crossed over her chest, lips stuck out in an angry pout. 

Across the table from her, Rost just stared at the shattered ceramics. There was a frown on his face, but his eyes were distant instead of furious. This wasn't the first time that Aloy had thrown such a tantrum this week, but it was certainly different this time. She had broken a bowl, and wasted food, which was serious. Despite her stubborn demeanor, guilt was already bubbling deep in her gut. She knew a line had been crossed.

Instead of speaking aloud, Rost raised his hands and began forming signs very slowly. The anger from before surfaced again and Aloy glared at him. She didn't like having to learn all these signs with her hands, they were more difficult than talking and hard to remember. She decided to stare out of the window beside her instead of paying attention. When Rost reached over and gently turned her face back to him, she didn't resist it.

After a few tries, she recognized the words he was signing as, "You're not in trouble."

Aloy scoffed at that and said, "I broke something. I wasted food."

Rost looked at her pointedly and Aloy slammed her hands back on the table. 

"I don't want learn the signs anymore!" She yelled, her tiny voice rising in anger. 

Struggling to get down from her chair and avoid the spilled food, Aloy stormed out of the house. If Rost tried to stop her, she didn't listen. The air outside was growing cold as the sun set along the horizon. It was too late to grab a warmer fur to pull over her, but she was too frustrated to care. Instead Aloy stalked over to the cliffside, kicking the ground absently as she did. 

Settling down with her legs hanging off the cold rock, Aloy let out a loud sigh. It was what Rost did when he was upset, but the small girl didn't see how it made him feel any better. If anything, it made her want to yell her anger out even more. She picked up one of the rocks nearby and tossed it down the cliff, tracking the path it made as it bounced along. Aloy wasn't even sure what exactly she was angry about, just that the emotions rolled in her stomach like an ugly storm.

It was a long time before she heard the inevitable footsteps approaching her. The sun had just dipped out of sight entirely, giving the sky a soft, milky-gray color before it turned completely dark. She didn't turn to look at Rost as he moved to sit beside her. To her surprise, he hadn't spoken yet. He hadn't signed anything either, but Aloy was still skeptical. 

It was Aloy who broke the silence first, "I didn't mean to break the bowl."

It was a dejected murmur. Even if part of her still wanted to put up a fight, she was truly sorry about that. Her temper had gotten the best of her when she swept her arm out to knock her dinner away. In all honesty, she hadn't even thought about the consequences of the motion when she did it. Beside her, Rost let out a grunt that seemed to be understanding. At nearly eight years old, Aloy had grown pretty good at discerning the tones in Rost's noises. 

As long as she had known him, Rost had never explained why he would get so quiet sometimes. She had a feeling it had something to do with why he had become an outcast, why he was alone. If she asked him on his good days, all she would get was "it's not a story for a little girl". On his bad days, however, it would draw him further within that cocoon. 

"I know." Rost said at last.

The sound of his voice surprised her, and Aloy turned to look up at him quickly. He wasn't looking at her, but out over the land below them. Following his gaze, she couldn't pick out anything of note. Hearing Rost talk despite today being one of his quiet days made Aloy feel...different. The anger that had strangled her earlier dissipated like the morning mist. Her frustrations seemed silly when she couldn't put a word to them, couldn't explain them.

"Do you know why I'm teaching you to sign words?" He asked, looking down at her.

She resisted the urge to flinch away, "I don't know."

"What do you think, then?"

Aloy let her gaze fall, starting to pull at the stray grasses on the cliff. The strands were dry and crunched easily at her touch. Frustration at her inability to explain herself boiled in her veins. The words just wouldn't find their way to her tongue. After a moment Rost leaned over and took her hand. He opened it and brushed the grass away. His fist formed letters slowly, and once Aloy realized he was signing the alphabet, she begrudgingly joined in. She had memorized it long ago, but something about this moment urged her to go along with what Rost was trying to explain to her.

After they finished the alphabet, Rost pulled away and started again. This time he did the individual letters of her name; A-L-O-Y. Then the sign they had created for her name. Aloy copied his motions. Finally, he made eye contact with her again. She tilted her head to the side curiously, surprised by the seriousness that marred his vision. 

"When I gave you that name, I made a promise to you, and to the All-mother above. It was a promise that I would have the strength to protect you always, and to raise you the best that I could." His voice sounded deeper than usual now.

Before Aloy could interrupt, Rost began speaking again, "But there are some days that I cannot be my best.

"You mean like your quiet days?" Aloy asked.

"Like my quiet days." Rost agreed, "The All-mother created us all to be individuals. Which means, while we all have our strengths, we also have our weaknesses. This is my weakness."

By now Rost had begun to sign along with his words slowly. She did her best to focus on how his hands moved, to really pay attention to what they meant this time. To treat them as seriously as the words that hung in the air. Despite this effort, Aloy still wasn't sure what the purpose of his speech was. 

"So, teaching me to sign is helpful? Like...like I'm paying you back for that?" Aloy guessed, with an uncertain frown.

Rost shook his head, "No, that's not why."

"Then I still don't understand." Aloy grumbled.

"I'm teaching you sign language, because I want you to be compassionate." Rost said.

"I don't understand how that makes me compassionate."

"Aloy, in your life people will have all sorts of weaknesses. The tribe will support all of its members, not matter what burdens they carry. A compassionate Brave will do whatever it takes to help out his brother, like learning to sign." Rost elaborated.

Aloy could see his point, but still wasn't sure what it had to do with her. The Nora tribe had never gone out of their way for her, so why return the favor? After a long few minutes, Aloy nodded seriously. The two of them weren't the only Outcasts in the sacred land, and who knew what troubles they might have communicating. In this context, Rost's lesson was finally starting to make sense for her. 

"I'm sorry I got upset earlier." Aloy said quietly.

Rost just patted her on the shoulder affectionately and made to stand up. He had talked a lot just now, and Aloy thought he was beginning to look worn out. It had been one of his quiet days after all. Just as they reached the door of the cabin, Rost turned around and signed one last thing to her.

"You still have a mess to clean up."

Aloy let out a huff of annoyance, but didn't dare argue that point after all that had happened this evening. As they parted inside the house, she thought she saw a smile pulling at Rost's mouth.

_________________________________

The smallest traces of light seeped into the darkness enveloping Aloy's mind. The world around her was fuzzy, almost like she was pushing her face into the soft furs of a blanket from back home. Her ears were ringing again, but the sound was muted. It was like floating along, just under the waters surface.

Where was she? The thought managed to find it's way through her muddied senses. What had she been doing again? Aloy felt like it was serious, but just couldn't quite put her finger on it. Her muscles throbbed with a dull ache, and she was dimly aware of a searing pain that ran from the back of her head, down along her spine. The light was beginning to fade again. 

She was tired. Oh, so tired.


	4. I'm Not A Loner

Stepping back into the world outside of Mother's Watch felt like walking into another lifetime; her mind was still whirling from everything she had just learned and taken upon her shoulders. The weight and reality of the ordeal had begun to press on her, as if it intended to crush her beneath it. Part of her hoped it would, that the ground would swallow her whole. The other part, however, had began to boil deep in her gut. Yes, she had been angry earlier, at both the Nora and at Sylens, but now? 

Now, Aloy was livid. The fierce, burning unfairness of it all was bubbling inside her. It took everything she had not to unleash it on the village around her. Her steps were rapid, her eyes unseeing, as she rushed to the freedom of the wilds. Aloy wasn't even aware of how long she had been running, only that she finally had to collapse with aching lungs. She stayed curled on the ground, in the safe embrace of tall grasses that hid her from the view of any nearby machines. 

Despite how exhausted Aloy was now, her frustration hadn't ceased. It remained a hard lump in her throat, choking her into silence. Something cold dripped onto her arm, and suddenly she was aware of the tears tracking down her cheeks. Gritting her teeth in a silent snarl, Aloy wiped them away roughly. Her breaths were heavy and dry, but she forced herself back onto her feet. 

The world around her still smelled of ash, though she had left the wreckage of Mother's Watch far behind. Most of the Eclipse soldiers and their corrupted machines had disappeared or been driven back. The threat might have been dealt with, but it would be a long time before the land healed. Another pang of anger made her heart ache, added a layer to the weight upon her shoulders. 

She forced herself to take several deep breaths, in an effort to calm down once more. With her breathing finally settled, Aloy was prepared to start moving again; this time with a destination in mind. Before she could take a step, though, her focus buzzed to life.

"Done with your tantrum? There's no time to waste." Sylens annoying voice felt more like a fly settling in her ear.

The words unraveled all of her earlier efforts, and angry tears pricked the corner of her eyes. Every ounce of her being wanted to take that frustration out on him, but Aloy's words died before they could make it that far. She didn't want to talk to Sylens anymore, didn't want to talk to anyone at all. Instead, she marched off in silence, headed north towards the Bitter Climb. 

It would be quite the journey, even if she had a mount overriden to take her there. Nearly a week, she guessed and that wasn't factoring in any sudden delays along the journey. The thought was discouraging, to say the least. Aloy found that the best way to keep herself moving was just to focus on...well, nothing. Dwelling on her findings made ugly, hateful feelings grow and thinking about what lay ahead was almost as bad.

Somewhere around her third day of travel, Aloy found herself lingering more and more with every stop. At first it had been at her own makeshift campsites, perhaps sleeping in or setting up at sunset instead of nightfall. Then the long periods spent inspecting what the passing merchants had to offer. Words still refused to come to her, but at the very least, merchants had a tendency to understand the basics of sign language. They we're happy to babble on about this weapon or that armor, while Aloy wasted time pretending to listen.

It was around this time that Sylens seemed to catch wind of her antics. Or perhaps, that he had had enough of them. Aloy ignored his ranting, save for the occasional grunt or huff to show her annoyance. The pestering was whittling down what was left of her nerves, leaving the huntress feeling more like a hounded animal than anything else. 

Since morning, Aloy had found her steps drifting towards the east. Snowfall was a commonplace by now, not thick enough to make travel difficult, but enough to crunch softly beneath her feet and send goosebumps along her skin. Pausing to pull an extra layer of fur from her pack, she had to force down an exasperated sigh. Her focus had clicked on once more, preceeding the inevitable.

"What are you doing, Aloy?" Sylens asked, his voice somewhere between annoyed and incredulous.

She didn't bother answering him, just pulled on the longer shirt. He spoke again as she began putting her armor back in place.

"I shouldn't have to tell you that this isn't the way to the Bitter Climb." He growled.

Aloy finally spit back, "I know it's not."

"Oh good, so you haven't lost your voice." Aloy found his mocking even more infuriating than usual, which was an achievement. "I was afraid the fate of the world rested on a mute idiot, but it looks like you're just an idiot."

"Why don't you come say that to my face?" Aloy snarled back.

The shimmery, purple of Sylens' hologram blinked into life, but she didnt care. She marched right through him, twice, since he fizzled infront of her once more.

"This is no time for games, Aloy." 

"I'm not the one who's been playing mind games since we met." She retorted.

The hologram opened it's mouth like he wanted to snap back, but instead it closed again and Sylens' features hardened. This brought Aloy to a halt, finally. Although, it wasn't in obedience; her expression was as defiant as ever. 

"Aloy, there is a malevolent machine out there that wants to destroy all life and I hate to break this to you, but you're included in that." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Hmm, sounds like a real you problem." Aloy responded.

"Aloy, what did I just say about games?"

"You know what? I've had it up to here with the things you've said." Aloy snapped suddenly, pointing forcefully at him, "I didn't ask for any of this; not to be Elisabet's clone, or to have the Eclipse try to kill me and destroy my tribe, or to have to save the world."

"Have I mentioned before, how spoiled you sound? I didn't ask for this, I didn't ask for that-" Sylens was cut off abruptly.

"You can fuck off, Sylens, I'm not doing it."

The silence that hung in the air was staggering. Aloy walked through the hologram again, and this time she didn't hesitate. The chilly air felt like it had enveloped her, seeped into her heart and taken root. Her heartbeat had traveled up into her throat, making her nauseous. Still, she marched on. Dimly, she was aware of Sylens voice buzzing through her focus, but the words didn't stick. Her mind had slammed to a halt, like something had been stuck between the gears and now they just couldn't turn.

After a few minutes it became annoying enough that Aloy took the focus off, making sure it was safely tucked into a pocket of her bag. Easy to grab if needed in a hurry, but blissfully silent until then. Things continued like this until the next day; every time she put the focus on and Sylens tried to lecture her, back into the pocket it would go. By the next day, he had given up entirely.

A sliver of guilt hung on the edges of her mind, but Aloy was surprised by how easy it was to ignore. It really was unfair, everything that had been unceremoniously dumped on her like this. Despite her decision, Aloy found that she didn't feel any better. She didn't like this heavy feeling lingering around, and wished that she knew how to shake it completely. For now, that most she could do was find momentary passes of peace.

It had been a little under a week since Aloy had last spoken aloud. Most of her time had been spent wandering aimlessly from settlement to settlement. She still hadn't distanced herself too far from the road that led to the Bitter Climb, almost like her feet just couldn't bring herself to give up just yet even if the rest of her had. 

"Hey, Nora! Over here." A voice cut into her thoughts suddenly.

It belonged to a stout Oseram outlander, who looked about the same as any other Oseram that she'd met. Aloy paused for a moment, swiftly wracking her brain to figure out if she'd promised to help this person and forgotten. Nothing came to mind, so she padded over cautiously.

"Yes?" Aloy signed.

The Oseram took a moment to remember the correct signs(or so Aloy guessed) and responded with, "You're the spear girl, right?"

"I...guess?" Aloy responded uncertainly.

"So, you can handle yourself out in the wilds?" The Oseram insisted.

Aloy nodded curtly, wishing that they would just hurry up with whatever they needed her for. 

"Good. You should go talk to my buddy over there," Here they paused to place a hand on Aloy's shoulder and point to another Oseram man, "Ohtur's his name. He's just come back down from the Cut, and got some rumors that'd be right up your alley."

Somewhere during the conversation the Oseram had given up on signing and just spoke aloud, much to Aloy's annoyance. Regardless, she shrugged the hand away and made her way over to this "Ohtur". She was curious after all, since the Cut didn't ring any bells. He was already standing tall when she reached him, probably having overheard the conversation. The Oseram rarely bothered to keep their voices down.

"Don't know why that crazy, old bat sent you over here. They're well aware that I barely made it back here with my life." He muttered, but didn't look to be particularly angry. 

"Why's that?" Aloy signed.

Ohtur raised an eyebrow at her, but it was obvious that he was a merchant and that meant he could grasp the basics of what she was communicating. Silently, she thanked her luck that the Oseram tended to be the most fluent in sign language; probably since all those loud weapons and hammering forges wore down on their hearing.

Ohtur huffed loudly, "All sorts of new dangers up along the Cut and into Ban Ur. Enraged machines, the things have nearly wiped out all of their best warriors."

At this Aloy perked up, that sounded like it had something to do with HADES and the corruption. Had it's influenced reached all the way into the Banuk territory? That couldn't be right, it hadn't even covered all of the Sundom yet, as far as Aloy was aware of. While part of her was intrigued, the other part was ready to sigh in exasperation. Was there nowhere she could go to escape her destiny? 

Ohtur must have sensed her hesitation, because he continued, "But like I said, I wouldn't recommend going up there right now. You want to meet some Banuk? There's a little encampment to west of the Grave-hoard."

Aloy shook her head, memories of the last time she had been there flashing behind her eyes, "I think I'll steer clear of the Cut entirely."

"It just below the Cut, not quite there, and besides it's definitely worth the visit. Betcha there's plenty of merchants in Meridian that would pay you for the knowledge found there."

This caused Aloy to perk up, "Why's that?"

"Rumor has it, the Banuk that live there live alongside the machines. Peacefully." Ohtur added the last word matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Aloy signed skeptically.

"Cross my heart, I've heard the rumor enough to think it carries at least a little truth." The Oseram trader insisted.

Someone else seemed to be trying to flag Ohtur down, so the two exchanged a hasty farewell. Aloy watched him walk off thoughtfully and then moved over to the side. With her map pulled out, she traced the roads she recognized up to the Grave-hoard. Ohtur seemed to be right about the location, since there was a settlement marked there, although there wasn't a name scrawled beside it. 

She grimaced at the thought of returning to the Sacred lands, and instead looked to the opposite side of the territory borders. Dawn's Sentinel was probably the furthest she could travel on Carja land, and from there she could go the long way around to the Banuk encampment. Aloy wasn't sure exactly when she decided that she'd pay it a visit for sure, but now that she had there was a soft glow of anticipation in her belly. It was the closest to excitement that she'd felt in awhile. 

Glancing to the sky, Aloy guessed it was just a little past noon. There was time to start her journey today after all, but first she'd better stock back up on supplies. For the first time in weeks, Aloy smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not sure how happy i with this chapter, but hey, we're still getting to the Good parts. Next chapter should send us into Ban Ur for sure ;3
> 
> minor edit; changed mothers heart to mothers watch, had the wrong settlement oops


	5. I Am Just Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof so this ended up longer than i originally planned, so sorry for the wait ;u;

As it turns out, the Banuk settlement was hard to miss. Aloy could easily see the calm, blue lights of the passive machines long before she reached the village itself. Despite hearing about the phenomenon beforehand, it was still a surprise to see just how closely the two lived together. As she approached the campfire outside, a tall Banuk woman nodded in greeting. Beside her, a Watcher tilted it's head towards her curiously.

Aloy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and she had to force herself not to slink away. Her instincts were still on guard, no matter how friendly the machines looked. Once she had fought off the brunt of her worries, Aloy found that she was actually quite curious about it all. Just how much of human life did the machines understand? Was this Watcher standing guard, like the lookout woman, or was it just enjoying her company?

After a few minutes of studying the Watcher, which had turned to face the road once more, Aloy continued up the path to the rest of the settlement. The people around her moved about without the slightest hint of worry. A couple of hunters sat infront of a roaring fire, boasting loudly of their successes while a Scrapper lazed on the ground beside them. To her right, a gaggle of children were running in circles around an excited Watcher. Even further along, Aloy spotted a man inspecting the crooked wing of a Glinthawk. The absurdity of it all boggled her mind, but she was eager to learn more.

She wasn't very well-versed in Banuk culture, but Aloy knew enough to spot what she thought was the resident Shaman. Picking her way around people and machines alike, she moved towards him. Her purposeful stride must have caught his attention, or perhaps she stuck out, because he was waiting patiently when she finally stopped. 

The man wasn't particularly tall himself, but the telltale headdress that Aloy had come to associate with the Banuk added several inches. Thick, blue cables appeared to be woven into his skin and her mind flashed momentarily to Sylens. Aloy gave her head a quick shake, firmly putting him back out of her mind. Instead she glanced to the imposing shape of the Thunderjaw behind the Shaman. It was unmoving, lying on the ground as if it were dead, although she could see no significant wounds on it.

"Drawn to the blue light as well, eh, wanderer?" The shaman asked with a soft smile.

"Seems so." The words were out before Aloy even had a chance to think about them.

It was the first she had spoken in a couple of weeks, and her voice was raspy, but still hers. A warm glow sparked to life inside her, happy at how easily talk had come to her. The shaman seemed to sense the change in her and gestured around them amiably.

"Feel free to stay and listen to our song's, outlander. We're always happy to sing of the blue light to those with willing ears. The machine's feel the same." He said.

Aloy looked back over at him, tilting her head slightly in curiosity. That was the second time he had mentioned this "blue light". The machines certainly gave off a faint, blue glow wherever they looked, but the Shamans words felt more meaningful than that alone. 

"What do you mean by "blue light"?" Aloy asked.

"The spirit of the machine's, of course. It's essence flows through them so much stronger than with us." The shaman motioned to a passing Ravager.

Her heart skipped a beat, trailing the beasts steps skeptically. Watchers and Scrappers were one thing, but a Ravager could do serious damage if it had wanted to. The Banuk shaman shook his head slightly, with an amused smile.

"They won't harm you here, where the blue light resides." He said.

"Why are they...why is the blue light stronger her?" Aloy paused, trying to word her question in a way that was respectful.

The Banuk might credit these docile machines to a source of Blue Light, but Aloy knew there would be a far less spiritual explanation. Not that she could think of one herself, she had never come across anything like this before. Even when she could override a machine, it wouldn't last forever. This tribe respected the machines more than the others, but that didn't mean they understood the technological side of the creatures. In fact, they would probably view such things as blasphemous, the idea that the machines were a type of "technology".

To her relief, the Shaman didn't seem bothered by the question, "Ah, so you're a curious one like those other outlanders, eh? Always wanting to meddle and tinker with something."

Aloy was beginning to feel tired, and opted for tilting her head to the side questioningly instead of speaking.

"We had some Oseram visitors yesterday, insisted that there must be something the machines like here." The Shaman elaborated.

At those words, Aloy squinted thoughtfully. After a couple of heartbeats she lifted her hands and quickly motioned the word "sign?". The shaman looked a little surprised, but didn't ask why. Instead he just nodded curtly.

"Where did they go?" Aloy signed.

The shaman gestured to the mountain path behind him, "If you follow this path up to the ridge, there will be some handholds at the top. I last saw them headed up there."

"Okay, I'm going to go find them. Thank you..." As she was turning away, her hands trailed off and Aloy realized she hadn't asked his name.

The shaman lifted a hand up to his chest, "Tikuk."

Aloy copied the gesture sheepishly, "Aloy."

After that, the huntress spun on her heel and began making her way through the settlement. She couldn't quite put her fingfinger on it, but there was a sudden, deep feeling of foreboding enveloping her. The minute Tikuk had mentioned the Oseram outlanders, it had made itself known. Aloy was certain that the outlanders were going to cause some sort of trouble, whether they meant to or not.

Upon reaching the spot that Tikuk had indicated, Aloy hauled herself up onto the ridge. There wasn't a specific path to follow anymore, so she chewed on her lip as she contemplated what to do. Begrudgingly, she took the focus out of her pocket and used it to look around. There! Off to her left, a handful of yards away, a strange signal was pinging away. Two vaguely-human shapes appeared to be crouched near it, while another two were standing several feet back.

Clicking the device off again, she made her way over to the two outlanders that were closer to her. Mercifully, Sylens hadn't chimed in to bug her yet, so Aloy left her focus out. She'd need it in a minute anyway, to get a better look at whatever was giving off that weird signal.

As soon as Aloy rounded the corner of the ridge, the two Oseram tried to duck out of sight. Unfortunately for them, there was nowhere for them to do so. The shorter one milled about nervously, like he knew that something was wrong. The other attempted to tried to play it cool, like they hadn't just jumped at the sight of her.

"What are you doing up here?" Aloy signed, frowning.

The two people looked at her blankly for several seconds, before the taller one started fumbling an explanation. 

"We uh, we don't do...can't understand signs.." They shook their head, exaggerating the words a little.

Aloy huffed and spoke alongside her signs(she was too stubborn to give them up, regardless of if they were understood), "What are you doing up here?"

The two Oseram exchanged looks before responding, "We were looking for something to bring back to the man that hired us to come here."

"Vilgund?" Aloy prompted. 

"Y-yeah, did he send you?" The shorter man asked.

The other one snorted, "I'd be surprised if he spared the shards to check on us."

"I offered." Aloy said, "Now, what have you found?"

"An old piece of scrap metal, from the Old Ones. We were going to take it back, I'm sure Vilgund would pay us well for the find."

"Yeah, but it's weird, we shouldn'ta messed with it."

Her eyes narrowed, "Why not?"

"Dunno, not like most of the things we dig up. It looks like it's been blasted out of something else. Makes weird noises too."

"Where is it?" She asked

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "Garnund and Dorgeld are back there with it. We told em that we didn't want any part of whatever they were doing."

The words were barely out of his mouth before Aloy took off, moving past them a little more roughly than she intended. She spared them one last glance, which revealed the two of them making their way back down into the settlement. When she turned back, Aloy almost ran into a Glinthawk perched on the edge of the mountain. It tilted it's head at her, giving off a metallic-sounding whir. 

She eyed it warily for a moment, and then kept on moving. The foreboding from earlier was making her restless and agitated. There was some vague knowledge clinging to the edges of her mind, like something she couldn't quite remember, but had the instincts to react to regardless. Aloy was certain the strange device the Oseram had found was responsible for the docile machines in the settlement below. Just what that device was escaped her, but there was something she was sure of; the Oseram wouldn't treat it gently.

On the off chance that they did, anyway, they were not equppied to work with any of the devices of the Metal World. Not in the way that Aloy was. If she didn't reach them first, the Oseram outlanders would mangle the device. It would mean chaos to the Banuk settlement at the very least, and a full-blown massacre at the most. 

Jumping up over the lip of what appeared to be a small crater, Aloy bared her teeth at what she saw. The two outlanders, Garnund and Dorgeld, were crouched over the machine. One of them was pulling at different pieces with deft hands, while the other inspected long scars in the metal. They must hear her approach, Aloy wasn't aware that she was even stomping, because they turn to her suddenly and then stand up.

They had equally defiant looks on their faces when she stopped, but only the one on the right was brave enough to leer down at her. Aloy stared right back and rested her hands on her hips. To her surprise, one of the Oseram spoke first.

"Beat it kid, this is our delve." He grunted.

"Not much of delve, just a broken old machine" Aloy shot back, before adding, "and you're not getting rid of me that easily."

The other Oseram nudged his buddy, "Hey, it's really not wor-"

"Hush, Garnund, I'm not leaving empty handed." His friend, Dorgeld surely, shoved him off.

"It's not even worth the scrap it's made from." She bluffed. 

"Then why're you so interested in it?" Dorgeld asked, taking a step towards her.

Aloy curled her lip, "You better back off, before I make you."

"Run that by me again, twig."

Aloy didn't hesitate to shove the man back, making him stumble. Her eyes widened in dismay as the unbalanced man toppled onto the device with a yelp of pain. Although, she was much more concerned with the wrenching sound of metal on metal that came afterwards. 

Dashing over to it, Aloy tried to push the Oseram man aside. He pulled away from her with a grunt, holding his left arm that now sported a bloody slice in it. A small voice in the back of her mind wanted to apologize, but Aloy found that the larger part of her simply didn't care. Instead of helping Dorgeld to his feet, she began inspecting the strange device with her focus. The signal from before had disappeared completely, and the interface of it was so faded that Aloy could barely read it. Or perhaps, it was broken enough that the strings of letters and numbers weren't comprehendable anyway.

A horrified shriek ripped through the air suddenly, causing Aloy to jerk around. The reality of the dead signal shot through her; the machines were attacking the village. She managed a couple of shaky steps, her mind clouded with a sudden panic as more screams rang out. Dorgeld's face was blank with shock, while Garnund at least had the grace to look ashamed. Aloy wasn't even aware she had moved at all until Dorgeld shouted at her.

At some point, she had turned and grabbed the man by his injured arm. With her fingers digging into his flesh, Aloy bared her teeth at Dorgeld. All of that rage from weeks earlier surged to the forefront of her mind, and she thought that the Oseram men seemed to shrink beneath her glare.

"Look what you've done!" She yelled.

"I-we, we didn't do this!" Garnund sobbed, while Dorgeld tried to puff up angrily, "You're the one that pushed me!"

"You were the ones trying to take the device away! None of this would have happened if you had just-" Aloy's snarling was cut off by a particularly heartwrenching scream.

All three of them turned in the direction of the terrible sound, broken from their bubble. With a sudden clarity, free of her rage momentarily, Aloy dashed back down the path and rappeled down the ridge. The rope dug into her hands, but she was barely aware of the sting. Her senses were overwhelmed before she even touched the ground. The air was filled with the sound of fighting, and tearing, and sobbing. 

Her sense of smell was swamped with the heady smell of freshly spilled blood, weighed down with scent of ash and smoke. Even though Aloy had become accustomed to this kind of carnage as of lately, something about this time was different. It was hard to make sense to the whirling mass of emotions trying to take over; from shock, to anger, to guilt. Finally she settled on that anger, let it simmer and pump adrenaline into her veins. She was going to need it.

Her feet hit the ground with a solid thud and Aloy was off in an instant. Launching herself at the closest machine, which happened to be the Scrapper from earlier, she slammed her spear into it's side. A high-pitched whine fell from it's open jaws, and the machine scrambled to turn and face Aloy, it's earlier prey forgotten. She twisted the spear, smiling when the telltale crunch of wiry sinews being ripped apart sounded. 

The scrapper keened, deep in its body, and it spasmed violently. Using her foot to push the dying machine off of her spear, Aloy used the momentum to spin around and launch it at a leaping Watcher behind her. The weapon sunk into the side of the Watcher's head easily, the force of the attack sending it careening into the ground. It's target, one of the children from before cowering against the wreckage of a tent, looked up at Aloy with wide, scared eyes. She hesitated for a long few seconds, unable to pull her eyes awhile from the small boy's. 

After what felt like hours, she managed to unstick her feet from the ground. While her thoughts begged to move the child to safety, Aloy found herself at the carcass of the Watcher instead. It took most of her strength to wrench the spear free, and she almost toppled over when she finally did. It was hard to ignore the heavy sobbing to her right, which seemed so much clearer than the rest of the commotion surrounding them.

Aloy took one deep breath, and then rose to her feet. Dust had been kicked up everywhere and it made her eyes sting. She made a split second decision and slung her spear over her back, snatching her bow up instead. It wasn't her favored bow, but it would do the job. She had switched to one meant for rapid, closer shots just a few days prior. 

Her ears were beginning to ring as the first couple of arrows flew through the air. The Glinthawk with the crooked wing had been downed relatively quickly once the machines were enraged, but the other metal bird hadn't been so easy. It was terrorizing a few Banuk who were unlucky enough to have their shelter ripped from above them. The arrows sent it plummeting towards the earth, where another hunter leapt up to finish the job.

Aloy dashed further into the encampment, looking for the Ravager she had seen while speaking to Tikuk. Vaguely, she was aware of a spike of panic when she realized that the shaman was nowhere to be seen yet. The thought didn't have a chance to take hold, because ironically, the Ravager found her first. It's heavy paw clipped her shoulder and sent her careening into one of the Banuk hunters.

The two of them fell over in opposite directions. Pain shot from her mouth, and the salty tang of blood was all she could taste. She'd bit her tongue upon impact with the ground. Spitting blood and curses, Aloy jumped back to her feet in an instant. She'd fought enough Ravagers to predict it's second leap, and dove far to her right narrowly avoiding another hit. With bow in hand, the huntress sunk three arrows into the canon on it's back without hesitation.

The component crashed to the ground, and the machine attempted to limp away from her with cries of agony. Aloy said after the weapon, and began emptying the Ravager's own canon into itself. Once it was down for good, she finally let the component fall. Her breaths felt like they had to claw their way free by this point, thanks to all the dirt and debris she'd inhaled. A glance around her revealed that the fighting had finally come to an end.

All of the machines had either been defeated, or chased far from the settlement by now. People were venturing from hiding places and slinging weapons away; desperate to find those they had lost in the commotion from earlier. Tikuk and several other Banuk crawled out from under the Thunderjaw, and Aloy let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. 

Making her was over to him, he steps were suddenly halted at the sound of horrible cries. Several hunters dashed over to the woman screaming, but Aloy couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene. The woman was curled on the ground, her body cradling a small, disheveled shape. Her heart leapt to her throat and it took all of her willpower to look away from the scene. 

Tikuk had walked over to her, holding a hand out like he was hesitant to touch her shoulder in reassurance. She turned to him, surprised by how numb her body felt all of the sudden. The shaman looked even more put off once their eyes met. Almost like he wasn't sure of what he saw. Aloy couldn't find the energy to ask why. She couldn't find the energy to care much, either. 

"Thank you for your help." Tikuk said finally.

Aloy grunted in response. 

"I saw the Oseram outlanders leave just before the machines grew angry." He stated simply, but his eyes were searching.

Before she could say anything, an angry hunter shoved his way between them. 

"Because they are the ones who did this to us!" He shouted.

"They did not-" Tikuk tried to say, but was cut off.

"Of course they did! Those fools came asking about the village, and then she," The hunter paused to point roughly at Aloy, "showed up, and look what happened!"

Tikuk spoke more firmly now, "Aloy risked her life alongside us to fight off the machines, we all need to calm-"

"Don't tell me to be calm, my son is dead." The hunter seethed with anger, but after his last statement he finally turned and left.

A few of the others that had gathered murmured phrases of pity, and a couple moved off to accompany the man as he returned to his wife. Despite Tikuk's reassurance, Aloy could see a few faces that had started eyeing her warily. Anger stirred within her, but guilt kept it from growing any further than that. She'd let her temper get the best of her up on the ridge, and had let it carry her further into the fighting instead of making sure the child found somewhere to hide.

Tikuk offered an apology on behalf of the man, and thanked her once more, but the words went in one ear and out of the other. Rather than stay and help with the rebuilding that would be started soon, no doubt, Aloy said farewell curtly and quickly. She didn't even bother to recover any shards from the fallen machines, or too see if she could recover any ammo. 

Something in Aloy had snapped today. That last clinging doubt, that had kept her lingering close enough to the Bitter Climb to change her mind, was gone. Anger and guilt had squashed most of her other emotions. She had tried to give herself a reason to let that bitterness go, and it had blown up in her face instead. 

With nothing else to hold her here, Aloy pulled out her map and set off along the path to the Cut. It was time to start over.


	6. Feel A Shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ended up splitting this chapter in two, and posting this half earlier than planned! :3

What is that?  
  
Aloy had never seen this type of machine before. When Ohtur had mentioned new types of machines, she hadn't anticipated running into one literal minutes into traveling through the Cut. The longer she looked at it, the more curious she became.   
  
At first glance, it resembled a Sawtooth, or perhaps a large Ravager, but it had peculiar pieces of metal protruding from its head. If it were a live beast, Aloy would have thought them to be ears. She might even describe the machine's face as fox-like in appearance. Some sort of weapon was nestled in between its shoulders, no doubt something to equip it with ranged attacks. A blaze canister rested on each shoulder as well.   
  
There was something about its movements that seemed a lot lighter than a Sawtooth. It was pacing lazily back and forth across an icy pond at the moment, but Aloy had the feeling it would be faster then it looked. Even from where she crouched, hidden from its view, the air seemed...warmer around it. It was rare for machines to have elemental attacks, but she wouldn't put it past this hulking beast.  
  
As it made another circuit, Aloy finally got a good look at this...corruption that Ohtur had mentioned. The people here might call them "Daemonic", but she'd seen sickness like this in machines before. Although, the cords of energy that moved along it were different than the corruption she was used too. Instead of the glaring red they normally sported, this corruption was a deep, purple color.  
  
In all honesty, it was more intimidating than the red color. There was something about it that seemed more sinister, more invasive. The red might resemble blood, and stand out against the snow, but this looked more like a spreading disease. It blended in so well with the dark coverings of the machine, that it could be hard to spot if you weren't paying attention.  
  
She glanced up at the sky, judging it to be a little past noon. Plenty of time to take this machine out, if she decided to, and make it to the closest village according to what little she had on her map. That would be one of the first things she did once she reached Song's Edge, get a more helpful map for traversing the Cut. Sure, Aloy was adventurous and liked exploring, but there was a difference between that and blindly wandering around unknown territory. Top that with the much more extreme weather of the Banuk lands, and it could be disastrous.  
  
After a second of deliberation, Aloy clicked on her focus to scan the machine. As she'd gotten closer to leaving Nora lands, Sylens had started up again. She could block most of it out, but some days the anger in her belly threatened to spill over and she would have to pocket the focus. The incessant lecturing drove her mad, but Aloy would die before she gave Sylens the satisfaction of a verbal response again. If she thought she might snap, away the focus went.  
  
There was no sound for awhile, and Aloy had almost decided that she would be left in peace for once. The machine's name was a "Scorcher", further confirming her suspicions of an elemental attack. She would have to beware of flames as well as claws. Part of her found it ironic, a smirk curling her lips, that such a frozen land would have this fearsome fire-daemon roaming it.   
  
Unfortunately, after a few minutes of studying this new beasts parts and pieces, Sylens did in fact show up. Surprisingly, he didn't start in on the disapproval right away. Instead he remarked on how different this machine seemed, and if it was the distance from HADES that produced this different strain of corruption. Aloy didn't care to find out at the moment, so once she had memorized its weak points, the focus clicked off and went back into her pocket.  
  
That was another thing she needed to do in Song's Edge, while it was on her mind: sew a safer pocket for the important device. She'd been lucky so far, but it wasn't worth the risk of losing her focus just to keep Sylens quiet. As the Scorcher travelled around the far end of the frozen pool, Aloy dashed between hiding places.  
  
Lights flashed to yellow suddenly, and Aloy sucked in a dismayed breath as she waited for the machine to lose interest. It had noticed her far more easily than anticipated. Heavy pawsteps shook the ground. Luckily for her, it passed right by the clump of grasses she was sheltering in. The Scorcher pawed at a tall snowdrift for a few minutes, before letting out what sounded like a disappointed whine. The lights flashed back to its weird purplish blue color, and the machine retreated.  
  
Aloy drew her bow and nocked an arrow, frost glittered around the edges of it, numbing her fingertips. It was a large beast, so it would take several of these to stifle its flames. Still, it was worth using any advantage when dealing with dangerous machines; no matter how minute they seemed. Once the blaze canisters were gone, the canon should be next. Aloy made sure to have her tearblast arrows ready to go, for easy switching once their fight began.  
  
Carefully aiming her first shot, it was powerful enough to knock the blaze canister on the right shoulder clear off. The Scorcher howled in confusion, dancing on it's paws while it looked for an enemy to pounce on. Aloy rolled to the far side of the grass patch and loosed another arrow. Once the second blow landed, there would be no mistaking her as its aggressor, but she could buy a couple of seconds to move.  
  
She predicted correctly, and the machine had to whip around before it could leap at her. Its first lunge was easy to dodge, but the second came far closer than Aloy would have liked. Flames licked the air between them hungrily, and despite the rise in temperature, chills still ran down her spine. The snow melted under its feet, leaving sticky, menacing puddles. She would have to be careful to avoid them, or risk slipping in the heated water.   
  
More fire spilled from its jaws as it whirled around to snap at her. Aloy avoided the bite expertly, and thrust her spear up into the exposed part of the Scorcher's neck. The machine recoiled and tried to shake the weapon free violently. When the spear finally dislodged, it flew just inches past Aloy's face and into the ground just behind her.  
  
She snatched up the weapon and kept moving, the Scorcher would be back after her in seconds. An idea stuck her suddenly, and Aloy made a hard turn. The machine skidded past her, allowing the huntress time to dash across frozen pond before it came after her again. With enough distance between them, the Scorcher balanced on three paws, while flames burst out from the fourth.  
  
It wavered on it's haunches, and then lunged forward with much more force than before. This wasn't what Aloy had intended to happen, but it ended up working much better with her plan. Her quick thinking had left the machine without the energy for a full leap. Instead it landed just short of her, with all four legs still upon the heavy sheets of ice.  
  
The heat from its attack lingered on the metal, and without warning, the machines world disappeared from below it. Howling with shock and rage, the Scorcher crashed down through the melted ice and into the freezing water below. Aloy saw her opportunity, and began raining arrows across all of its weak spots.   
  
The Scorcher was down before it could even grasp what was happening. Its body fell limp, still half inside the water. Making her way over to the carcass, Aloy began rooting around for something new. Sure enough, she managed to pry the Scorcher's heart out without too much external damage. If it didn't fetch a nice price with the merchants in the Cut, then it surely would back in the lands that had never laid eyes on the beast before .  
  
She fished out some shards, as well as a few other goodies that would come in handy later. After that she did a circle of the area, grabbing a spare blaze canister and a handful of shards. With her kill cleaned up and nothing else of note around her, Aloy set off for Song's Edge once more.  
  
It was nearing dusk by the time she made it to the settlement, the sky painted more colors than she had ever seen growing up in the Sacred Lands. Aloy couldn't help pausing to get a good look at them, awestruck if she was being honest with herself. Streaks of purple and orange like the sunsets she was used to, accompanied by rolling swirls of blue, and green, and mixtures she never would have imagined on her own.  
  
Her reverie couldn't last forever, though, and Aloy's attention was drawn away by the smell of burning. Further along the trail, up within the main settlement, was what appeared to be some sort of...pyre. She'd had enough death lately, but curiosity still got the best of her. She reached the middle of Song's Edge just as the Banuk were finishing up their ritual.  
  
It was startling to see the shamans seemingly call the Glinthawks down, and carry the burning effigies away. The inquisitive side of her, which had been sadly quiet lately, wondered how such a tradition had even started. Aloy didn't really have the time or the willpower for an explanation anyway, she needed to get outfitted by the merchants here before they settled in for the night.  
  
As if reading her mind, an Oseram man waved her over just then. Everything about him seemed to say "Trader", from the friendly smile, to his attire which was clearly meant to carry the best of his wares with him when he went out.   
  
"Ah, an outlander!" He exclaimed joyfully, "You should stock up before leaving Song's Edge."  
  
"Is the next town far?" Aloy signed curiously.  
  
The man shrugged sheepishly, "Not really, but it's always good to be prepared."  
  
"Buisness been slow?" She signed with an amused smirk.   
  
"Slower 'n a Shellwalker with a limp. Setting up trade routes in Ban Ur has proven a lot tougher than I imagined." He laughed.  
  
"Well, I can help you out. Have you got a map of Ban Ur?" Aloy signed, and then turned to dig around in a side bag for her shards.  
  
"I do, in fact!" The Oseram man grinned.  
  
Once they had the payment settled, and Aloy had nabbed a few extra supplies for sewing a better pocket later, the two of them turned to amiable conversation. The man's name was Burgrend, and he'd come to the Cut with his daughter and a business partner. His friend, Ohtur, became fed up with the difficulties and returned home. That was the same Oseram that first told her about the Cut, a small world. Aloy tried to dance around the edge of her reasons for coming here, mentioning vaguely that she got sick of the unfair pressures of her people and left to make something else of herself.  
  
"So, what was all that about?" Aloy signed, referring to the funeral and speech given by their Chieftan.  
  
"Ah, a big shame, is what it is. This werak's shaman, Ourea, led their best hunters up to the Thunder's Drum to fight the Daemon." Burgrend sighed heavily.  
  
Aloy was curious about the Daemon, but settled with signing, "I'm guessing it didn't go well?"  
  
"Not by a long shot, they were just about routed by the machines. Whatever this Daemon is, it's been aggravating them somethin' fierce." He said.  
  
"They don't know what the Daemon is?" She was skeptical now.  
  
"Not really. As far as I know, it started like a disease from the machines, makin' 'em stronger and angrier. Then Ourea shows up, raving about the Daemon and how they had to save this Spirit from it."  
  
As much as Aloy yearned to know more, it was obvious that Burgrend didn't know much more than he had given her. Out of all the tribes, the Oseram understood the machines the closest to the way she did. Which meant he could grasp that this Daemon wasn't a malicious spirit, but unfortunately not a lot past that. The Banuk, on the other hand, were about as spiritual as the Nora and with a great deal more respect for the machines.   
  
Trying to figure out just what was going on here in the Cut would be difficult, the Banuk would probably chock it up to spirits and nothing more. Once upon a time, Aloy might have gone out of her way to get to the bottom of the mystery. She had grown cold in the past couple of months, though, and most of her adventurous spirit had froze along the way. Still, Aloy was the type of person who needed to be kept busy.  
  
So, she signed to Burgrend again, "Have you got any jobs you need done?"  
  
"More than you can handle by yourself."  
  
"Try me." She replied.  
  
"Well, I'm sure a hunter like you could get me parts much quicker than the Banuk ones, but I could do that myself too. How about you take some merchandise and a letter out to my daughter, Varga?" Burgrend asked.  
  
"Shouldn't be a problem, what settlement is she at?" Aloy asked.  
  
"Longnotch, it's east of here." He pointed it out on the map she'd bought earlier.  
  
Burgrend gave her a handful of shards, and with the payment settled, Aloy departed from Song's Edge. As much as common sense told her to stay the night and leave in the morning, but she was much too antsy. Besides, the sun wasn't completely below the horizon yet. If she moved fast, Aloy could probably squeeze another hour of travel in before the darkness forced her to stop.  
  
The air was freezing, much colder than Aloy was used too even during the night. She couldn't understand how the Banuk could stand living in a place where their warmer days still had snow. Once she reached the next settlement, she'd have to invest in thicker clothing too. Even the wildlife was sheltering from the weather, Aloy felt blissfully alone.  
  
Just as the sky faded to a rich blue-black color, she happened upon an abandoned campfire. It was nestled just off the main trail, in a natural rocky overhang. Aloy had to crouch under the lip of the rock to reach it. Setting her tent up against the side of the rocks, she lit the fire and settled down for the night.   
  



	7. Chapter 7

Upon arriving in Longnotch, Varga wasn't hard to track down; Oseram never were. Burgrend's daughter seemed to be as naturally friendly as he was. When Aloy found her, Varga was chatting excitedly with an assortment of Banuk and Outlanders. Unsure of whether or not they were in the middle of business deals or not, she hung around at the edge of crowd awkwardly.

As she watched, it became apparent that Varga was a very expressionate person. Now, that wasn't an uncommon trait with the Oseram people, but there was something different about her. Her features were soft and bright, reminding Aloy of the early morning's light. When Varga paused after a bout of laughter with the others, their eyes met for a second.

Aloy glanced away swiftly and tugged at the furs bundled around her neck nervously. Her face felt oddly warm compared to the chilly air. Suddenly the ground underneath her boots was much more interesting. Yes, nudging a rock around with her foot was important business. After several, uncomfortable minutes Aloy looked up again. The small gathering of people were still talking, and nobody was paying attention to her.

Confident that her sudden emotional blunder hadn't been noticed, she decided to keep waiting for a moment to go over. The huntress wasn't one to leave with her tail between her legs, but Aloy really wasn't sure what had come over her just then. Maybe pushing herself to keep travelling last night had been a bad idea, she was probably in need of more rest.

"Heya, stranger!" A voice broke into her thoughts.

Blinking the world back into focus, Aloy looked up in the direction of the sound. Her eyes met Varga's once more, they were a pleasant, warm brown, she noticed. Fighting off the nervous warmth again, Aloy pointed at herself and raised her eyebrows. 

"Yeah, you!" Varga waved her over.

Several of the people from before had disappeared, but a few were still there. A couple of Banuk hunters with twisted weapons, and a Carja traveller who looked like he was about to shake right out of his thin clothing. She motioned for the hunters to set their weapons on a bench off to the side as Aloy approached. 

"What brings you to Longnotch?" Varga asked cheerfully.

From what Aloy could discern, the Oseram woman really was curious. She was used to people only asking those sort of questions if they wanted something, were trying to sell her something, or they were telling her to beat it. Varga's question seemed genuine, as did her friendly demeanor. Aloy almost felt at a loss for how to respond.

"You- er, I mean, your father. He sent supplies, and a letter." Aloy signed quickly.

"Oh! Is he doing well?" She responded, gladly accepting the items.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah. He said business is slow, but he seemed happy." 

Varga laughed, "Yeah, to him business is always slow. He's always saying that you can never get enough customers. Enough shards is more like it."

"Well, I can't blame him, it's your livelihood after all." Aloy signed with a nervous sort-of laugh.

They both chuckled softly, the tension slowly leaving Aloy as they spoke. She wasn't sure exactly why she felt so easily embarrassed, but it was hard to feel uncomfortable around Varga. Even if she had only met the woman a few minutes ago. While she read her father's letter, Aloy glanced around, unsure of what to do next. 

The Carja man had left hastily by now, probably to find the nearest campfire or a warm change of clothes. She didn't blame him. Even the Banuk hunters had left after leaving their broken weapons for Varga to work on. Aloy hadn't seen them pay, and wondered if she should point that out or not. Maybe that was just how the Oseram trader worked. 

When Varga looked up, Aloy signed, "So, how's business out here?"

"Eh, it comes and goes." She shrugged good-naturedly.

"Those hunters didn't pay" Aloy pointed out.

She turned to glance over at the weapons, "Huh? Oh, yeah, I told them they didn't need to."

Aloy's face twisted in confusion.

"They've got some fine weapons, albeit a little mangled. I'm happy for the privilege of workin’ on them."

"That's not a merchant speaking."

"You got me, I've never been as much of trader as my pa wanted. Oh, I'm charming enough," She put in with a wink at Aloy, "but, I'd rather work on weapons for the joy it brings me. I'm a tinkerer at heart."

"R-really? What do you work on?"

"All sorts of weapons, the variety is what makes it fun." Varga's voice grew excited.

"Got a project you're working on? Anything I could help with?" Aloy tried to sign casually.

"Nothing anymore, unfortunately. I wish you could have seen my last one, though! Oh, she was a beauty, and I wasn't even finished yet."

"Why didn't you finish it?"

"Aw, the man who commissioned it was a no-good rat. Hooked me in with an amazing concept, a weapon that breathe fire; just like a Bellowback. Said he wanted me to bring it out to show him the progress, and robbed me blind."

Aloy felt a fierce, flash of anger at her words. This man was worse than a rat, he was a coward and a thief.

"Where did he go?"

"Wha- you can't get after them. I appreciate the concern, but I was happy enough just to work on 'er."

"It's no problem, I can get your weapon." Aloy signed before pulling her map out.

"Well, if you're sure, I've heard they've been ambushing travellers along the road." Varga smiled, a relieved sort of surprise in her gaze.

Varga pointed out the general area that the reports came from, and Aloy was out again quickly. There would be plenty of daylight to spend tracking the bandits, and then set up a camp when she got close. Travel was easy, a few machines here and there, but nothing she couldn't handle easily.

As she got closer to the area where Varga had indicated she’d been robbed, Aloy began to slow down. Her eyes scanned the surroundings with every step. Any clues to whether or not it had been an ambush wouldn't be overlooked by her hawk-like vision. By the time she was finished with her search, Aloy decided there wasn't any immediate threats in the area. A couple of Watchers further up the road, but nothing she needed to focus on.

As for clues, however, she had noted several things to go back and get a closer look at. First off, was the half-buried remains of a cart. It had clearly been there for several days, covered in snow and picked clean of valuables. Anyone else might have ignored it, but Aloy was more perceptive than most people. 

She leaned down and pushed some of the snow aside, searching. When she did, it revealed that most of the cart wasn't even there anymore. It hadn't been here for as long as she'd initially thought, and those broken pieces had to be somewhere. A little more snooping around yielded exactly what she thought it would; a trail of splintered wood.

Aloy followed the debris back across the road, and through the trees on the other side. There was only so much to follow, but as the trail began to dwindle, something else showed up. Footprints. They were nearly hidden by this morning's fallen snow, Aloy would have to act fast or risk losing the tracks altogether.

Fishing her focus out of its pocket and turning it on, the prints were even easier to distinguish. They led her along a well-treked path. Not one marked on any map, she would assume, but one that these bandits used often enough to know it like the backs of their hands.

As the path begin to grow thin, Aloy slowed her pace and moved more cautiously. The trail of footprints split suddenly, and she stopped to examine them. They didn't just split, in fact, but they formed a messy picture. She guessed that an argument of some sort transpired, and the group of bandits took different paths.

While she pondered what to do next, something cracked behind her. It was barely audible, a twig snapping beneath someone's boot. Aloy froze. She didn't have to turn her head to know one of the bandits was just behind her. They might've thought they had the advantage, but Aloy's trained ears heard every step.

Just as the bandit lunged at her, Aloy rolled to the right like lightning. There was a grunt of surprise, and anger, before he swung his weapon again. This time she was more prepared, and she easily side-stepped; disarming the bandit in the process. The shout of surprise that brought was like music to her ears.

Swinging his spear around, she bared her teeth in a sneer. She could see them all now, the one closest to her and two others just beyond that hiding in the trees. They clearly weren't skilled at camouflage, their clothes shades of blue and yellow. It would only be a matter of seconds before they joined the fray too.

Aloy jabbed the spear threateningly at them. The one that had just lost his weapon shuffled back, but his face twisted furiously. The three of them circled her, unaware that the intimidation would have little affect. Once you've stared down a Corrupter and a Thunderjaw at the same time, bandits rarely stirred up fear anymore. She was confident in her abilities. Despite that fact, she held off on cutting them down; that wasn't why she was here.

"Are you the bandits that robbed Varga?" She asked, with a voice like flint.

The closest bandit scoffed, "What'd she do, hire a scrap like you to get it back?"

"I'm going to give you one chance to give back what you stole." Aloy ignored the question.

"Yeah, and what're you gonna do if we don't?" One of them asked.

"Think you can take on all of us?" Another laughed, it was an ugly sound.

Her temper was unusually thin, and it wasn't getting any better as time ticked on. Aloy opted for ignoring them once again and shifting on her heels. They weren't smart enough to notice her body tense up, preparing to leap at any second. Instead the bandits laughed raucously, mistaking her movement for nerves.

The first man didn't even have time to register that he'd been hit, before Aloy's spear drove him into the ground. His companions recoiled, one of their eyes bulging in shock. The other, a muscular woman with dark warpaint marring her features, drew her bow in a flash.

Aloy dived to left and kept moving as she bounced out of the roll. The shorter bandit scrambled over to his friends weapon. Luckily, she was lighter and much quicker on her feet, so the huntress beat him to it. Without the heavy spear, the bandit could only face her with his short, hunting knife. Aloy tightened her grip around her own spear, glaring down at the man.

He looked to be trembling under all those furs, and certainly not from the cold. While the man seemed to be weighing his options, the final bandit leapt forward brandishing a large spear in place of the bow from earlier. Too late, Aloy realized that she had taken her eyes off the fallen weapon while she intimidated the man.

She ducked, pulling her own spear up to intercept the blow. The weight of it knocked the huntress backwards into the snow with a grunt of pain. Her chest burned as it struggled to regain the air that had just been knocked from her. A shout of rage sounded above her, as the bandit wasted no time in swinging her spear around again.

The sharp blade sunk into the snow beside Aloy's head, just barely missing her ear in the process. Unfortunately, this wasn't really the time to marvel at just how close of a call that had been. Instead, she grabbed the bandits arm and yanked her to the side roughly, as the other woman struggled to pull her weapon back out of the ground.

The bandit’s companion, who had finally decided on fighting on rather than fleeing, didn't have the brains to realize what was happening until it was too late. Aloy shoved the woman at him and the two tumbled to the ground nearby with a sickening sound. It hadn't been a part of her plan for the one to fall onto the others brandished hunting knife, but hell if Aloy wasn't going to take advantage of it.

While the bandit held his companion with utter horror written on his face, the huntress clambered to her feet. Both the spears were conviently out of her reach, but instinct kicked in and Aloy aimed a vicious kick at the man's head. He crumpled to the ground with blood spewing from his now-broken nose. The blow knocked him out before he even had time to cry out in pain.

Adrenaline still pumped through her veins, lending a welcome warmth to Aloy's body, but there was nothing left for her to take that energy out on. She glanced at the three bandits, shifting through their pockets in a vain attempt at figuring out where Varga's weapon might be now.

With a frustrated sigh, she gave up and looked at the sky. She would have to find somewhere to set up for the night soon. Suddenly another idea came to her, and Aloy jumped back up to her feet. Clicking her focus back on, she followed the disturbed snow until it was clear where exactly the bandits had snuck up on her from.

This new trail came from the west, and Aloy padded along it quickly. Or at least, as quickly as she could without drawing a lot of attention to herself. She doubted there would be anymore bandits nearby, or else they would have come running to defend their buddies. Still, it paid to be a little cautious.

As it turned out, the trail didnt lead her very far away. She emerged in a small clearing, sheltered from the worst of the cold, nightly winds. Within it were three shabby tents, a campfire, and random piles of boxes and destroyed carts. It looked like she had stumbled onto the smaller of the two bandit parties once they split up.

Figuring that it wouldn't hurt to take advantage of her find, Aloy lit the fire to warm up and then began to sift through their loot. It was well into the night by the time the huntress finished, with a disappointed sigh. Varga's weapon was nowhere in sight. The only footsteps Aloy had seen leading out of the clearing were the ones she followed earlier. She was at a standstill. She would have to return empty handed.

Frustration bubbled in her throat, but there was nothing she could do at this point. Aloy wasn't one to quit easily, so this would end up being a much longer endeavor than she expected. She curled up in one of the tents, aiming to get at least a couple hours of sleep before dawn broke. Tomorrow she would bring the news to Varga, and make another plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im gonna start by saying im really sorry for the wait on this chapter. unfortunately my mental illnesses flared up, and by the time i had finally recovered enough to do any writing months had passed, and i'd already plantinumed HZD, so my hyper-fixation on the game died down. 
> 
> this project is still very dear to me, and i have no plans on abandoning it. even if it takes months or a year before im able to get another chapter up, one day this WILL be finished. again, im really sorry for the wait. if anyone feels the need to contact or keep up with me and my writing otherwise, my tumblr is shinysurfinraichu! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Any tips, constructive criticism, etc are very much appreciated!!!! Also, as of the time I'm posting this, it's past midnight so if there's any errors I didn't catch, please let me know!!!
> 
> It's been a while since I planned to so a serious, multichapter project, so hopefully this turns out as good as I'm aiming for it to be! I really love the concept of deaf Ikrie, and I wanted to explore the process of an Aloy who wasn't ready to take on the world right away. I can't wait to get this fanfic into gear!!!


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